BetterJudo.comhttp://betterjudo.com
Lafon's Judo Blog: Telling it like it is!Wed, 01 Nov 2017 02:09:00 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.3Teaching Tip: Class Controlhttp://betterjudo.com/teaching-tip-class-control/
http://betterjudo.com/teaching-tip-class-control/#respondWed, 01 Nov 2017 02:09:00 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2711Continue reading →]]>If you’ve ever had to control a group of 3-5 year old lil warriors on a large Judo mat, you know how great they are at running around, fidgeting, and not paying attention. Coach Yuki at Judo America found a convenient way to corral her charges. On the command “Get back to your spot,” her lil warriors move back into their personal ‘ring.’

These agility rings are inexpensive, and serve multiple purposes. With the lil warriors, besides class control, they are used for obstacle courses and all kinds of agility drills. For older kids, in addition to the agility drills, we use them for several fun, dynamic, combative games, and reaction drills like musical rings.

Get Back To Your Spot!

]]>http://betterjudo.com/teaching-tip-class-control/feed/0The Seeds of Successhttp://betterjudo.com/the-seeds-of-success/
http://betterjudo.com/the-seeds-of-success/#respondTue, 24 Oct 2017 23:57:21 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2705Continue reading →]]>If you follow international sports as I do, you probably know that a nation of 330,000 just qualified for the 2018 World Cup in soccer, while a nation of 330 million failed to qualify for the same event. Why did Iceland qualify while the United States failed? Who cares, some of you might be thinking? Well, the answer is simple. There’s much to learn from Iceland’s success in soccer, and from America’s failure, because Judo in the U.S. suffers from the same problems when it comes to national development.

Much like East Germany in 1950, the Icelandic approach to success focused on coach education. Coaches were required to achieve a European (UEFA) ‘B’ or ‘A’ coaching license. Some of you may point out that USA Judo also has ‘B’ and ‘A’ coaching credentials, which is true, but all comparisons stop at the letter of the credential. To obtain a UEFA ‘B’ license, coaches are required to spend 60 hours of practical units on the field, 60 hours of academic units off the field, and a minimum 3 hours of assessments during an official coaching convention.

These are the assessments:

Practical coaching assignment, i.e. a training session prepared and run by a course participant with players appropriate to the course level;

Theory of coaching/management;

Laws of the Game;

Match analysis, i.e. a practical exercise where the candidate observes a match and produces a report;

Thesis/special study on child/player development, i.e. a substantial work on a coaching topic (e.g. tactics);

Background report during work experience/ study visit, i.e. a document containing a participant’s conclusions and observations on the work of a team and coaches he has followed;

Logbook of coaching activities, i.e. a diary of the experiences gathered by a participant during the course;

Other assessments of the candidate’s competence in football-specific areas, as defined in the syllabuses of minimum content provided by UEFA.

Holy smoke! You can see that USA Judo, USJF and USJA coaching programs offer nothing even remotely close to the UEFA model. Let’s be perfectly honest; our Judo coaching programs are mostly designed to fundraise, and to keep our insurance carriers happy. They are not designed to develop master coaches.

Some of you might submit that you’re not interested in international competition, so a rigorous coaching education program isn’t really needed. And, of course, you’d be wrong. Such a program would lift all Judo programs from grassroots to the international level. I’m pretty sure we’d all like to see more kids and adults doing Judo in our local dojos, or competing at our local events. Better coaching is a benefit to all of us.

Another step that Iceland took was tackling the problem of facilities in a country where the climate is not a friend. Full-size and half-size domed fields were built, allowing more kids to play soccer under highly educated coaches. While we don’t have a climate problem in the U.S. when it comes to Judo, we do have a facility problem: not enough dojos because we lack coaches to run these dojos. Wouldn’t it be great if each of our small communities had a Judo dojo?

When it comes to the failure of the U.S. men’s soccer team, much of the failure has been placed on our youth development program, where short-term goals emphasize winning tournament trophies at various levels rather than developing sound technical and tactical skills. These short-term goals also focus on precocious players- faster and stronger for their age than other kids- while more technically proficient players, but physically slower and weaker, might be neglected or rejected. This happens in Judo, too, as many coaches don’t care about long-term development, or can’t recognize which athletes will ultimately be the studs once they mature physically.

If we want to see better results at international events, and if we want to have more people doing Judo, and staying in Judo, we must tackle coach education honestly. What the national organizations are doing currently is an embarrassment. Since I don’t envision that they will implement coaching programs with teeth, it’s incumbent on every coach to self-educate, to think outside the box, to learn from other sports, and to become master coaches.

]]>http://betterjudo.com/the-seeds-of-success/feed/0No Kuzushi!http://betterjudo.com/no-kuzushi/
http://betterjudo.com/no-kuzushi/#commentsFri, 04 Nov 2016 21:17:01 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2663Continue reading →]]>Back in March, I posted a video clip on BetterJudo’s Facebook page of a failed O soto gari, and asked my readers why it had failed. Knowing that respondents would blurt out the go-to solution of no kuzushi, I debated whether to include, “Come up with something other than no kuzushi,” as the reason the throw failed. I didn’t include that caveat, and sure enough, half the answers mentioned kuzushi.

Geof Gleeson, author of seminal books like, Judo for the West, Anatomy of Judo, and Judo Inside Out, empowered coaches and players to be skeptical of what the Japanese were teaching Westerners. He was astute enough to notice the differences between what was said and taught during technical practice, and what actually transpired during randori and shiai. We’ve all been fed the kuzushi/ tsukuri/ kake line of thought for so many years that we hardly question it. It’s time to be skeptical of the concepts of kuzushi and tsurkuri as they are traditionally explained.

For starters, our understanding of how throws work is hampered by the theoretical model of Happo no Kuzushi, which shows the eight directions of off-balance. In this model, uke is teetering onto his toes, heel, or side of the foot. In the real world, this almost never happens. Off-balancing is more subtle. And perhaps, off-balancing is the wrong word to use. Does stable/unstable work any better? If I have 40% of my weight on my left leg and 60% of my right leg, am I off-balance and falling over like in the Happo no Kuzushi model? No. Am I unstable? No, not necessarily. So what am I? I may simply be in a position from which I can’t move, or move efficiently, quickly or safely as I’m being attacked.

I must also point out that the Happo no Kuzushi model is one predicated on throwing an opponent while tori remains standing. This is what I call “demonstration” Judo. On the other hand, in randori and competition, tori goes to the ground in order to throw. This is called “terminal” Judo. Terminal Judo requires different biomechanics, and with that we begin to question the relationship between kuzushi and tsukuri.

Does kuzushi comes before tsukuri, or vice versa? How does kuzushi occur without moving into position to throw? Does it occur in a vacuum? Does tsukuri generate kuzushi? If you watch Kyuzo Mifune execute his sutemi waza counter against a forward attack, you should be able to answer the question. Look more closely at video clips, and see if you can figure out which element comes first. Perhaps they are simultaneous. Perhaps what really happens is tori opens uke up to enable attacking penetration, and this penetration (tsukuri?) is what makes kuzushi possible.

Putting aside the kuzushi/tsukuri or tsukuri/kuzushi debate, what is sure is that kuzushi, however it’s obtained, doesn’t guarantee a successful throw. Sound biomechanical elements are what guarantee a successful throw.

Chief among the important biomechanics are straight supporting/driver leg, proper angle of attack, locking hand/arm, driving/power arm, attacking leg, and position of the head. We must also consider the dynamic factors; attacking space, tempo and direction of movement, posture, attacking opportunities, and gravity assisted power or GAP, a term authored by the late Danny DaCosta, a European medalist and British coach.

This leads us back to the failed O soto gari, which failed for several biomechanical reasons. Although tori had a straight driving leg, he started his attack from too far away, thus his angle of attack wasn’t optimal. In addition, his power arm was tucked underneath uke’s arm, so it wasn’t in a position to drive uke back. Finally, because he was too far away when he started the attack, and his power arm was in the wrong position, his torso and head were stood up, making him easy to counter. Had his power arm been higher, and the start of his attack closer to uke, he probably wouldn’t have been countered, and may very well have been successful. Look at how Teddy Riner attacks with his O soto gari. See the difference in the mechanics?

If you haven’t already seen it, I encourage you to watch the 2016 All-Japan Judo Championships final pitting Ojitani vs Kamikawa. Lots of strong O soto gari attacks, leading up to an Ippon throw in a different direction. Try to figure out what happens before Ojitani hurls himself into his O soto gari. Does he merely open Kamikawa up and penetrate into the attacking space? Or does something else happen? What of his biomechanics? What allowed Kamikawa to turn out of Ojitani’s O soto gari, and only be scored against once?

If coaches are to be more effective in helping their students, telling them “More kuzushi” or “No kuzushi” isn’t very useful. We must address how to throw successfully from a biomechanical viewpoint. As I said before, kuzushi by itself doesn’t guarantee success. Strong biomechanics (tsukuri) and terminal Judo (GAP) can create the kuzushi needed to overcome an opponent.

I encourage you to use within your class instruction the biomechanical terms and concepts presented in this post. I’m convinced your students will be better throwers if they understand the biomechanical principles of throws. Happy coaching!

]]>http://betterjudo.com/no-kuzushi/feed/2I’m not in it for the Money!http://betterjudo.com/im-not-in-it-for-the-money/
http://betterjudo.com/im-not-in-it-for-the-money/#commentsThu, 03 Dec 2015 21:38:41 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2643Continue reading →]]>I’m not sure how many times I’ve heard it said, but my blood pressure goes up every time I hear a coach say, “I’m not in it for the money.” This is quickly followed, or preceded, by statements that suggest the coach is having a hard time building his program. Don’t get me wrong, coaches are free to charge or not charge for the services they provide. However, there are unintended consequences when you don’t charge for Judo lessons.

Not charging, or charging little, sends the message that there’s little value to your product and services, or there’s something wrong with your sport, or your coaching abilities. While bjj charges $150-200 a month, too many of our coaches are in the $20-40 range, or are giving the sport away for nothing. This adds to the feeling that Judo is cheap for a good reason. While giving back to the sport might make you feel good, it does little for Judo’s image. And, many times, it does little to grow your club membership.

When students don’t have skin in the game or an investment in the program, they are more apt to take you for granted, and not take ownership of the program.

So, if you are still one of those kind-hearted coaches who’s not in it for the money, here’s an idea. Charge going rates, and use the funds to better your program. You could:

Buy much needed training equipment whether it’s better or more mats, a crash pad, or a throwing dummy.

Use the funds to get your students to out-of-area or out-of-state tournaments and training camps.

Purchase a nice 32” TV and some good DVDs to use as part of your instructional tools.

Create a small library of books and DVDs, and loan them out to your members for a nominal fee.

Invite a special guest instructor to run a clinic for your membership.

Hire someone to help you coach.

Get yourself to coaching clinics to better your teaching skills.

Start a small scholarship for whatever reason you desire.

Get some good advertising. If you’re computer illiterate, hire someone to create a website and a Facebook page or group.

These are just some obvious purposes for the funds you raise. You can probably think of some others if you think outside the box. If you do just half of the suggestions, your membership will grow.

One more comment on growing your program. If you’re stuck in a YMCA or community center that gives you one or two days at non-prime time hours, it’s hard to grow your program. So, use those funds to move into a commercial site that allows you to expand the number of hours and days you have class. Greater choice of classes results in greater membership growth. That way, you can give more back to the sport, and reach more students.

Above all and for all our sake, quit reinforcing the idea that Judo is cheap, and has little or no value compared to the other arts available.

]]>http://betterjudo.com/im-not-in-it-for-the-money/feed/9Heads Up!http://betterjudo.com/heads-up/
http://betterjudo.com/heads-up/#commentsWed, 25 Nov 2015 02:22:52 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2637Continue reading →]]>Sports are finally waking up to the long-term effects of concussions. Judo is no exception. The United States Judo Association, for example, has prominently displayed on its website an online course entitled Heads Up!. This course is the work of the U.S. Center of Disease Control, which tells us how important this issue is.

I took the course, and completed it in 45 minutes. While it’s informative and addresses how to recognize the signs of a concussion, it isn’t sport-specific enough to tackle what we must do to minimize the potential for concussions.

Contrary to what we might think, ukemi and kuzushi are not always the problem in Judo, nor do they solve all our problems. When it comes to head injuries, we can focus on proper pairing of training partners, training methods, and age-appropriate techniques, but the real elephant in the room is this: the landing surface! Thin puzzle mats, hard wrestling mats, folding gymnastic mats that separate, even good foam tatami…laid down on a concert floor…this is Judo’s greatest risk for injury, and where our first preventive measure against all injuries needs to be.

If our insurance carrier had any idea of what goes on in Judo clubs, and how injuries can be minimized, it would require spring-loaded platforms, rather than some nebulous course on concussions. Our Judo organizations should develop “position statements” that encourage clubs to install spring-loaded platforms when possible. Platforms are “forgiving,” and help clubs retain members, minimize injuries, and train more efficiently. They are a win-win proposition for everyone involved in Judo

Our next red flag is not ukemi, but with the way ukemi is taught traditionally. I’m referring to the solo “mat bashing” method. The problem with solo practice is that tori has a vote in how uke will fall, no matter how many trillions of solo mat bashing repetitions he does. Tori’s speed, technical accuracy, angle of attack, follow through, sidedness, grips and technical variation all affect uke’s landing. There’s a huge difference between a solo back fall and a back fall via O soto gari, or between a zempo kaiten and being slammed with a drop Seoi nage. Therefore, ukemi training should be done in conjunction with many different Judo techniques, starting in low positions, i.e. squatting or kneeling, before moving to a standing position. There, the use of a forgiving crash pad while learning ukemi will further make the practice more realistic and safer. By the way, according to statistics provided to me by a Japanese colleague, O soto gari caused the most head injuries among junior high school students early in the season, in spite of the thousands of back falls they performed.

The strength of the neck and its range of motion are often an afterthought when it comes to injury prevention. How often are we told in our coaching education and within the “fitness industry” that neck bridges are contraindicated, and just plain bad for us? Dr. Hiroshi Takei, a Judo coach and orthopedic surgeon specializing in the spine, scoffs at the idea that front and back neck bridges are bad for you.

Unfamiliarity with a technique can also cause injuries. Here, we need to differentiate between the techniques we want our players to perform, and the techniques we want our players to be able to recognize so they’ll know how to defend against or take a fall. My players are not allowed to perform drop seoi nage, but they recognize the skill because I perform it on them in randori, and they practice turnouts or proper ukemi from the drop position.

We should ask ourselves if what we teach is age- or skill-appropriate for our membership. A 13-year old with three years experience in Judo should be capable of learning and performing Uchi mata. Would a 13-year with little experience in Judo be in the same boat? Would he have the required leg strength and balance to execute an injury-free Uchi mata? Or would this lead to a head injury for him or uke? According to statistics compiled in Japan, among self-inflicted injuries that caused paralysis, Uchi mata was responsible nearly 60% of the time.

Finally, some common sense mat management procedures need to be adhered to. Manage the number of players on the mat or actively involved in practice based on what they are practicing. Tomoe nage takes up more space than Ippon seoi nage. By grouping the students by threes instead of pairing them up, fewer people are throwing at the same time. Also, it’s a good idea to have all your players throw in the same direction on the mat, either north-south or east-west. When it’s time for randori, further limit the number of players on the mat. Using weight is a good way to keep the training area safe. For example, first up, players under 85lb. Next round, players over 85lb, etc.

Organize your mat space by putting the heaviest players the farthest away from the lightest players. Know which players can work safely with others, while still paying attention to size, age, sex and skill differences. It’s more than OK to minimize what each player can do with another for safety reasons. For example, 8-year old Ralph loves to do O soto gari, but you have him doing randori with a child with two weeks of Judo. Ralph has been taught how to take care of junior and younger partners. Still, you may want to tell Ralph to knock off the O soto gari, and try something more appropriate and safer for his training partner.

Here are some additional statistics from Dr. Takei. While they deal with paralysis, they also have a strong connection to concussion rates. When paralysis was caused by a partner, drop seoi was the main culprit 44% of the time. Paralysis occurred 58% in shiai, 37% in randori, and 5% in uchi komi/nage komi.

In conclusion, take Heads Up!, the CDC’s online course. Recognizing the signs of head injuries is important. And do pay attention to the Judo-specific preventive measures listed below.

Preventive Measures

Spring-loaded platform

Crash pads

Little or no solo mat bashing

Partner-assisted ukemi training

Use a variety of throws to learn ukemi

Strengthen the neck

Minimize unfamiliarity of techniques

Age- and skill level-appropriate learning

Pay attention to your mat management

]]>http://betterjudo.com/heads-up/feed/10Judo America Tournament Ruleshttp://betterjudo.com/judo-america-tournament-rules/
http://betterjudo.com/judo-america-tournament-rules/#commentsMon, 20 Jul 2015 06:09:30 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2626Continue reading →]]>I just came back from the California State Games, which used the current IJF rules. As always when I go to even a few events that run IJF rules, I wonder how we have allowed ourselves down this ugly road of issuing hansokumakes and shidos for what used to be good Judo just a few years ago. Everyone complains, but few do anything constructive to offer alternatives. So, here are the Judo America rules I use when I host our in-house tournaments.

Full matches: We want participants to experience as many minutes as possible fighting and developing their competitive Judo skills. I call this time in a match, or TIM. Therefore ippon does not end the match. Coaches have the prerogative to end a match if their students are overmatched.

Leg grabs: All leg grabs are allowed provided tori starts with at least one grip on uke.

Gripping: All grips are allowed provided they are for offensive purposes.

Pins: After an ippon-scoring pin, the referee will call matte, stand the players back up, and call hajime to continue the match.

No penalties: We want players to win by positive scores, not by getting their opponents penalized. While there will be no scores via penalties, referees will verbally admonish players in a proactive manner, i.e. white attack, blue stand up, stay in the middle, white no stiff arms, etc.

Cumulative scores: To diminish the role of the referee’s subjective scoring judgment, (where no number of yuko can ever be the equivalent of a waza ari), scores will be cumulative. Two yuko will equal a waza ari, 2 waza ari will equal an ippon.

Gis: We allow for the wearing of any color judogi, including different colors for pants and jacket, on any side. Jiujitsu gis should adhere reasonably to Judo standards. The new IJF gi size requirements will not be enforced.

T-shirts: No shirts for boys. Girls can wear any color undergarment they want, but please no sparkles, or gem stones.

These rules make for more risk taking, more dynamic Judo, more positive actions, and fewer silly distractions about gis, making this an exciting, spectator and competitor friendly tournament to watch. A coach from Mexicali, Mexico emailed me after our last tournament to tell me he thought all tournaments should use Judo America rules. I agree.

Our rules also make it easier to learn to referee by eliminating all the rules that stifle good Judo and create information overload in a referee’s mind, making it easier to focus on the most important aspect of refereeing: getting the scores right!

I encourage you to try these rules out for yourself. I’m pretty sure your students and parents will love the effects of sensible rules.

]]>http://betterjudo.com/judo-america-tournament-rules/feed/7What’s happened to our kids…and parents?http://betterjudo.com/whats-happened-to-our-kids-and-parents/
http://betterjudo.com/whats-happened-to-our-kids-and-parents/#commentsTue, 14 Apr 2015 23:39:46 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2611Continue reading →]]>For those of us who have been coaching Judo for 30 or 40 years, we’ve noticed the changes over the years in the kids who come into our programs. Kids, and parents, of the 70s and 80s, and even as late as the early 90s, are distinctively different from kids and parents of the twenty-first century. I call today’s kids the “entertainment” generation. Parents are known as the “helicopter” and “bulldozers” parents. More concerned about their kids being babysat and protected from the reality of the world, and having bought into the destructive self-esteem movement, these parents hardly believe in the adage, “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The result is that fewer kids are competing and fewer are willing to excel at anything. Yet parents bring their kids to our Judo programs to help their kids gain confidence, while at the same time being reluctant to have little Peter or Mary compete.

Almost two centuries ago, Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the German writer, stated that, “Too many parents make life hard for their children by trying, too zealously, to make it easy for them.” I agree. Todd Brehe, a former athlete of mine and a 2-time U.S. World Team member, addresses this issue from his own perspective as a player, international competitor, and father. Below, you’ll find his well-penned article, Why Every Recreational Judoplayer Should Compete. It’s an empowering article that should be shared with prospective new parents.

Why Every Recreational Judoplayer Should Compete by Todd Brehe

I went to my son’s T-ball game the other day and watched twenty or more kids take whacks at the baseball and run in random patterns around the bases. My son is seven and all he really cares about is hitting the long ball. Fielding is completely optional. At the end of most games, he always tells me the same thing. “Dad, no one wins these games. We always tie. It’s boring Dad.” It’s a new concept that wasn’t in vogue when I was a kid. T-ball and other entry level sports don’t keep score, don’t have league winners, and don’t have 1st, 2nd, or 3rd place trophies. Everyone gets the same generic award and the same end-of-season pizza party. I’ve heard some of the academic theories for this philosophy. “It’s better for young players to focus on the learning the game instead of winning and losing (as if those two concepts were mutually exclusive). There can be a lot of anguish associated with competitive sports for young players.” But I don’t see it that way. In my experience, what’s missing from many sports are coaches and parents who know how to teach kids an ethical, empowering framework for competing. In the short time we’ve had our Judo Club open, we’ve witnessed a deep-seated fear and reluctance by many of our recreational athletes to fight in tournaments. On the chance that we do encourage these kids to participate in a competition, even a novice division, they’ve often built up such a strong fear that they struggle to function at all during a match. When you talk to these children and ask them what it is that they don’t like about tournaments, they usually give an evasive answer such as, “I just don’t like to compete.” Or their parents will answer for them and say, “I’m just afraid it will ruin Johnny’s confidence.” It’s very clear to us, that the child’s fear and uncertainty relating to competition, has been gently instilled over an extended period of time, by the child’s parents. It’s interesting because the primary reason that parents bring their children to a Judo club is to help the children learn skills like self-confidence and mental toughness. My personal belief is that competition is nothing less than beautiful. It’s important, valuable, and a critical element of our society. Every child, during the course of her lifetime, must compete at home for attention, in school for grades, on the playground for friends, in the work place for advancement, etc. Why then don’t we teach our kids better, more empowering philosophies and beliefs about competing? One reason is that we haven’t been taught very empowering attitudes about competing ourselves. Very few of us have been fortunate enough to experience that unique coach or leader who can outline and instill a positive philosophy about competition. Another reason is that our society is so overwhelmingly in love with the winner, that there is a natural tendency to win at all costs. To the victor go the spoils. At Wimbledon, they only give one big dish, and while it’s nice to be in the Finals, Sports Illustrated really only cares about interviewing the champ. I’m no educator and I base many of my philosophies on what I’ve learned “in the trenches.” So take what I say as another piece of data and not “the way it should be.” Here is the story Rich Riley and I tell our kids and parents. It doesn’t work all the time but it works a lot of the time.

In our program, we teach self-confidence, self-discipline, self-control, and self-respect. Our vehicle is the sport of Judo and we consider the skills kids learn while practicing Judo to be life skills. These skills are acquired as a result of an extended participation in our program. You don’t learn them in a single season. (Karate and Tae Kwon Do clubs are absolute 10th Degree Black Belts at marketing these ideas)

Anyway, the majority of our parents bring their kids to our Club to improve in these areas. One of our core beliefs is that competition is an outstanding means for improving self-confidence and mental toughness. Avoid competition and kids may be missing out on the real lessons Judo has to offer. That may seem counterintuitive given that kids often quit Judo because of lousy experiences they have at tournaments. Yet you can usually trace these experiences back to parents, coaches, and family members, who so exclusively focus on winning, that their children learn to equate losing with failure. In many cases, losing for these children results in verbal and physical punishment. Is it any wonder why these kids hate tournaments? The mantra that we repeat like a slow, heavy drumbeat to our kids is this: Forget about winning and losing. Of course you are going to strive to win every match. But give us your best effort, and try to perform the Judo skills that we have been teaching you, during a match. If you try your best, in our minds, you won — whether you got a victory or not. If you happen to win…super…on to the next round. If you happen to lose, bow respectfully and come off the mat–without crying. We make it very clear to our athletes, that if they fight a match and do the skills we have showed them, and still lose, it’s our fault. It’s our responsibility as coaches to figure out why they lost and help them improve. Of course as athletes grow older, this becomes a team process. This philosophy does two things. It encourages kids to focus on something within their control–their own personal performance–and helps them ignore things outside their control–the referees, the draw, or the opponent’s belt color. It also simplifies expectations and makes it easier for kids, especially the recreational athletes, to be successful. I learned a valuable philosophy from my Dad. He helped me understand that competition is about testing yourself and helping your opponent test himself. Competition isn’t about winning. Winning comes as a result of your preparation, your skill level, a little luck, and your attitudes. The more you truly desire to fight the best athletes, all the time, and at every camp and competition, the better chance you will have of becoming a world class athlete. Don’t think for a minute that disempowering beliefs regarding competition are limited to younger athletes. Some of our top Judoplayers suffer from this “syndrome” right now. I have heard on numerous occasions, American athletes complain that “I got a terrible draw.” This usually means that the athlete is lined up to fight someone who has previously been successful in the Olympics, the World Championships, or a big international/national meet. Deep down, many of our best players are holding out for a “perfect draw” in which they can fight unranked or unproven athletes right up to and through the medal rounds. If everything goes right, they can win a medal without having fought any tough competitors. But like a cheap cologne, the competition can smell that form of fear a mile away. And this attitude negatively affects the outcome of many matches for our players. You’ll also find, that the most successful American Judoplayers, want the “worst draw” possible. They want to fight the reigning Olympic Champion in the first round. They know if they can beat the Olympic Champ., the rest of the tournament will be cake. They absolutely crave competing in big matches against big time opponents. You’ll find them unsatisfied, even when they win tournaments, if top competitors were absent. Back to our recreational Judoplayers. Judo competition is tough and challenging, physically and mentally. It’s important to remember, however, that no one ever developed any real confidence without first having overcome a significant personal challenge. Parents who allow their children to avoid challenging situations, like a tournament, keep their children from developing the very skills they want their children to learn. By teaching our children more empowering beliefs about competition, we can help them enjoy and benefit from the competitive process. By keeping the bar high and working with them to develop the skills needed to get over that bar, we can help them become more self-reliant, mentally tough, and self-confident.

]]>http://betterjudo.com/whats-happened-to-our-kids-and-parents/feed/8Cardinal Rules for Dojo Visitorshttp://betterjudo.com/cardinal-rules-for-dojo-visitors/
http://betterjudo.com/cardinal-rules-for-dojo-visitors/#commentsTue, 31 Mar 2015 21:02:54 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2608Continue reading →]]>Many players like to visit other clubs while on business trips or vacation. Since every club tends to have different rules, culture and expectations, players can sometimes be caught making an etiquette faux pas. By doing so, they can damage the reputation of their home club and coach. A recent etiquette no-no prompted my colleague, Steve Scott, to put together what I’m calling the cardinal rules for dojo visitors. I was so impressed with the list that I asked for permission to post them in my blog. So, here it goes.

1. If you plan on visiting another dojo, call ahead and get permission from the coach, instructor or sensei before you go. When calling, inquire if there is a drop-in or mat fee, or if there is any restriction on proper attire (for example, some clubs may only allow a white judogi, while others have other rules). When calling, be respectful and don’t boast or make any claims that could be construed as arrogant or disrespectful. Even if you think you’re the baddest man (or woman) on the planet, it’s best not to mention it.

2. Another thing to remember when making the initial call is to inquire if your belt rank is recognized by the club you intend to visit. Some clubs may recognize ranks from only a specific organization, and if this is the case, respect their rules and wear a white belt. Also, inquire as to how you should refer to the head instructor. Some people want to be called sensei, while others prefer coach or others may prefer something else. In any case, when in doubt, either use the word sensei or the formal title (Mr. or Ms.) and their last name (Mr. Smith, for example).

3. When you show up, show up early (never be late) and make it a point to introduce yourself to the head coach or instructor. Make it a point to both bow and shake his or her hand when you first meet the instructor.

4. As far as bowing goes, it’s always better to bow too much than not enough (or at all). When entering the dojo area of the gym or building, bow as you enter the room. Bow on and off the mat and bow to all of your workout partners before and after training with them. Be sure to bow to the instructor as you approach him or if he stops to offer some instruction to you on the mat during practice.

5. Always thank the instructor is he or she gives you instruction on the mat, and be sure to thank every partner you work with after working our with them. For example, after a round or randori, bow and thank your partner for the good workout as you shake his hand before going on to another training partner.

6. When entering the mat, as a guest, it’s a good idea to immediately walk up to the instructor and bow and shake his hand. As you do, thank him for allowing you to train with his or her club. Make sure you do the same thing after practice. Bow and shake the instructor’s hand and thank him for his hospitality. If you have to leave the mat, ask permission from the instructor first. Don’t just walk off the mat without permission-that’s a major breach of etiquette.

7. Show up clean and free from odor. Always have a clean training uniform on and make sure that you wear some type of flip-flops or sandals when off the mat. Bring your own towel.

8. You’re a guest-remember that. Never correct another student unless he or she is doing something dangerous or stupid. Let the instructor, coach or sensei do that. When drilling with a training partner or when doing randori, don’t stop and start coaching him or her. Keep your mouth closed and work out. Again, let the coach do his job. It’s his or her club, not yours.

9. You came in for a good workout, so get one. Give as good as you take. If somebody cheap shots you in practice, don’t get mad, just get even. Get serious and get it on, but do it with a smile and be polite about it. The cheap shot could have been done to you to see how you would react. Stand up for yourself, but don’t go overboard. Like I said, don’t get mad, just get even. And whatever you do, don’t be a “mat bully.” We’ve seen those guys come in once in a while and I (as a coach) and the people on our mat make sure they don’t come back. A few years ago, at the start of the randori period, a visiting black belt quickly picked a teenage green belt as his first partner. As the coach, I made sure to keep a close eye on what developed. And, sure enough, this adult black belt was going overboard and beating up on that lighter, weaker and less-skilled teenager during randori. After about 2 minutes, I ended the round (scheduled for 5 minutes) and made sure that the visiting black belt got one of our black belts as his next randori partner. Our visitor got a lesson in how to breakfall and tap out. He ended up going one round after another with the brown and black belts who were on the mat. After only 3 5-minute rounds of getting his butt handed to him, he claimed he had a back injury and asked to sit down. He never came back. Good.

10. Work out for the entire practice. Don’t stand around like you are important, waiting for the randori period. Do all the drills, mat games and everything else the rest of the group does. No one is too good to pick and choose what he wants to do at practice, except for the coach, instructor or sensei in charge of the workout.

11. Always be humble, but don’t be a wimp. It’s better to (as Teddy Roosevelt said) speak softly and carry a big stick. Give respect and earn respect. That’s an unspoken truth that goes on in every good dojo.

12. When sitting on the mat, make sure to sit at attention or sit with your legs crossed. Don’t lie on the mat or sit with your legs stretched out.

13. Always pay attention when the sensei, coach, instructor or higher rank demonstrates a move or teaches something. Even if you know it, pay attention. You never know, someone out there may actually know something you don’t and you may actually learn it.

14. Never, ever assume, just because you may be a higher rank than the instructor at the club you are visiting, that you are now in charge. It’s his dojo, not yours. If the instructor asks you to show a technique, take it for the compliment that it is and show something that the group might find interesting or useful. Don’t show off, just teach the move and make sure that you publicly thank the instructor for allowing you to teach the move at his or her club after you are done teaching it.

15. Never, ever, speak badly about anyone else when visiting another dojo, club or gym. Ours is a small world and word gets around if you snipe about someone. And, as in the case that came to my attention, don’t claim to represent a club or make any other claims that you can’t back up or aren’t true.

]]>http://betterjudo.com/cardinal-rules-for-dojo-visitors/feed/6Judo as a Professionhttp://betterjudo.com/judo-as-a-profession/
http://betterjudo.com/judo-as-a-profession/#commentsWed, 17 Sep 2014 02:05:56 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2587Continue reading →]]>I’m so tired of hearing Judo people say that you can’t make money teaching Judo, that I can’t take it anymore. Why is it that TKD, BJJ and MMA instructors can teach for a living, but we Judo coaches can’t? An obvious reason is that if you’re charging $30 a month for your twice a week classes, and you only have a handful of students, it’s hard to envision how you can earn a living. The instructors in the other arts have already figured out that a different business model is needed, a model that may run contrary to everything we’ve ever been told about Judo. To our detriment, we in Judo are allergic to the use of “business” in conjunction with Judo. To be successful, we must comes to terms that our Judo club is a business. Left to discuss is how successful do we want that business to be?

If it were up to me, there’d be a national project to encourage some of our players to consider teaching Judo as a profession. Since there isn’t any such project, it’s up to coaches who are already teaching Judo as a profession to encourage others to follow in their footsteps.

Many of our graduating high school kids are not too sure what they want to be or study. A college education, which saddles many college graduates with tremendous debt, is no longer the mandatory path after graduation, especially if the chosen major is one that offers few opportunities for employment. And with current budget cutbacks, it’s getting harder to choose the military option. However, the American entrepreneurial spirit still lives on. This is an option that we should encourage some of our people to take.

There are three aspects to teaching Judo for a living: the Judo, or technical, part; the business part; and the academic part that complements the technical and business parts. Becoming an entrepreneur is not for everyone. If becoming your own boss is the way to go for you, here are few things you must do. Since the answers to running a successful martial arts program are not likely to be found within Judo literature, you must be prepared to:

Be a voracious reader

Be an autodidact, or self-learner

Have one or several mentors

Prepare Early

You may be a recent high school graduate or someone going through a mid-life crisis looking for a career change. Whatever your situation, start preparing to be a professional coach as soon as you decide you’d like to teach for a living. It will take you some time to get you to the point where you can start living your dream.

Choose an Educational Path

If you desire to teach Judo for a living, I’d suggest an alternative educational path, especially if you have no higher education. This path might include college, but not necessarily a college degree. Pick and choose courses that make sense for your entrepreneurial goals, rather than earn a BA or MA chock full of useless classes for your chosen career. A few colleges allow you to create your own degree. If the available courses work for you, and the cost is not prohibitive, this may be a compromise whereby your earn a college degree with courses that are meaningful to your profession.

Since this is often not the case, here are some great options. See what your 2-year community college has to offer. You’ll be looking for courses in business English, advertising, marketing, salesmanship, communication, leadership, kinesiology, sports psychology, physical education for elementary children, child development, first aid, etc.

Next up are certificate programs, personal enrichment and online classes and courses, and professional adult/continuing education offered by the Extended Studies department of your local universities. These are short, cost effective, to-the-point classes that offer the very specific information you need for career advancement. The University of California, San Diego, one of my local universities, offers the following Extended Studies courses that would be beneficial to someone running a Judo business: behavioral counseling, learning theory, practical market research, and marketing via social media.

There’s a plethora of professional associations and groups (some martial arts specific and some not) that offer certification, enrichment materials, continuing education credits, liability insurance, advertising support, and access to research papers and peer reviewed articles. National Association of Martial Arts Professionals (NAPMA), National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), The Physician and Sports Medicine, IDEA Health and Fitness Association, American Council on Exercise (ACE), and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) are just a few of them.

Master Your Art

There’s a lot of competition out there vying for the same small market share. While you don’t have to have been a world class athlete to become a successful Judo businessman, you must be the very best judoplayer you can be. Here are some suggestions.

Know what the big boys and girls are doing at the international level. It’s not enough to know only the go kyo no waza and the kata. Look at video clips of international matches. Do the players grip and move differently? Do their techniques mimic the traditional forms within the go kyo and nage no kata, or are they altered to be more functional and more successful?

Your coach may have technical limitations that hold your development back. Be prepared to either get another coach, or participate in as many seminars, camps or clinics to help your growth.

Be more proficient in ne waza than the average stand-up judoplayer. Your main competition for members will come from Brazilian Jiujitsu, so it behooves you to know more than kesa gatame and juji gatame. Studying Brazilian jiujitsu would be very helpful.

Be in shape and stay in shape. You’ll be selling Judo as a form of fitness and health. Being overweight and out of shape sends the wrong message. In the long-term, continue to train as long as you can even if it means doing randori with your junior students.

Become a better athlete in order to become a better judoplayer. Develop your strength, stamina and flexibility. More importantly, become more agile and have better control over your body movement.

Become a Judo technician, whether you’re a good fighter or not. This requires a good understanding of biomechanics. Be capable of teaching more than your own tokui waza.

Look at your Judo practice in a different light. How would you teach the technique that your coach just showed? Can you spot your teammates’ biomechanical mistakes while you observe practice? What kind of feedback does your coach provide you? What feedback would you want or prefer? Does your coach like to hear himself talk, while you sit there wanting to train?

A Second Art?

If you have a background in a second art, then your chances of success in the martial arts business just went up. The Korean Judo teachers that landed in the U.S. in the 60s and 70s all had a duo background of Tae kwon do and Judo. My own sensei, Benso Tsuji, had blacks belts in Aikido and Judo. Today, the combination of Judo and Brazilian jiujitsu, sambo or wrestling would make sense.

The second art doesn’t necessarily have to be a martial art. It could be a healing art, yoga, strength and conditioning, etc.

Learn to Teach

Being a great judoplayer and being a great teacher require two different skill sets. You are not a great teacher simply because you are a great competitor. Once you have mastered your art, you’ll need to do the same thing with your teaching skills. This is where things get a little tricky. Your coach may not be the best example of how to run a commercial Judo club if he doesn’t understand the three Rs: recruiting, retention, revenue. If that’s the case, this is where a mentor and the National Association of Martial Arts Professionals come into play.

The average Judo club’s curriculum and ways of introducing Judo to beginners leave a lot to be desired. Recruiting new students and retaining them require something other than boring warm-ups, mat bashing, static uchi komi, and randori.

Much has been written on teaching methodologies, although most does not specifically address Judo. You’ll have to read a lot, understand the ideas, connect the dots, and apply them to Judo. You should have a working knowledge of backward-forward shaping, bridge or open project method, games approach, decision approach, technique vs situation approach, whole-part-whole, etc.

Before you embark on your own, find a way to get teaching experience within your own dojo, most likely as an assistant coach. Chances are you will be hampered by the instructional model of your coach, but there is so much to learn that this is still better than not teaching at all. You might try questioning the model, and suggest different methods.

I’ve mentioned having a mentor several times. Even though your average Judo player tends to view tae kwon do as a McDojo operation and a sellout to the art, the truth is that the McDojo makes lots of money. So, why not develop a relationship with one of the tae kwon do instructors in your city? See how he and his assistants teach. Learn his business model, use what’s useful, and discard what you can’t stomach.

Start Small

You’ve done all your homework, and gotten some teaching experience. Now you’re ready to take the plunge on your own. The start-up costs of a Judo business can be significant. Rent, mats, business licenses, and insurance all add up pretty quickly. So, before you rent a commercial spot, why not teach at an established martial arts studio, YMCA, or community center, and build your following? Even better than that, start a Judo club in your play room or garage like Migoto Judo Club and SoCal Judo did in Southern California.

One final temporary or permanent option: team up with a partner who teaches another art and is willing to share facilities. I’ve done this successfully with partners in aikido and kempo karate.

Jimmy Pedro has gone on record as saying that even if we could develop a large demand for Judo based on winning Olympic medals, we’re in no position to service the demand. He’s right. We don’t have enough coaches and clubs. And we’ll probably never have enough clubs until we can convince enough players to teach Judo as a profession. The crises still is in coaching. While Nanka, the Los Angeles based yudanshakai, is proud of its development of very young (some pre-teens) referees, what is it doing to develop coaches willing to run commercially successful dojos? What are you willing to do to stem the crisis in coaching?

]]>http://betterjudo.com/judo-as-a-profession/feed/1My thoughts on the 2014 IJF Ruleshttp://betterjudo.com/my-thoughts-on-the-2014-ijf-rules/
http://betterjudo.com/my-thoughts-on-the-2014-ijf-rules/#commentsThu, 06 Feb 2014 22:24:35 +0000http://betterjudo.com/?p=2298Continue reading →]]>Just when you think the IJF rules can’t corrupt Judo anymore, in rides Neil Adams with more insanity from the IJF. Neil has bought into the notion that Judo needs to remain an Olympic sport, and that in order to do that, Judo must be made purely an offensive minded sport with big throws. Sorry, Neil, that’s a load of crap. What the IJF is proposing makes a mockery out of what used to be Judo. At my club, we will continue to have none of this nonsense.

I was so disgusted by the last video that Neil Adams put out on these changes that I issued this statement via several email lists, and Facebook pages and groups. My apologies if you have already seen it.

To all Judo Coaches and Players,

For many years, I had been a strong supporter of Olympic Judo and the IJF. Two of my daughters have been on our Olympic or World Championships teams: Valerie Lafon Gotay (1992 and 2008 Olympics + three world teams) and Natalie Lafon (2011 World Team). However, with the rule changes starting in 2009, I have decided that the IJF no longer represents the best interests of Judo. Accordingly, I support a burgeoning grassroots movement that uses alternative rules in lieu of the travesty that the IJF has forced upon us. One such movement is the Freestyle Judo Rules formulated by another former, strong supporter of the IJF, Steve Scott.

As more and more coaches and players are finding out about Freestyle Judo (FSJ), and participating in FSJ events, threats have been made by the national organizations establishment. We’ve seen this ploy before. Players and coaches are being told they won’t be promoted, and referees are told they will lose their referee status or won’t be advanced to higher levels. Most of these threats are idle. USA Judo’s Robert Fukuda confirmed to me that it’s not the policy of USA Judo to threaten referees with loss of referee status. In addition, the new USA Judo/USJF/USJA agreement on the “Scrimmage Sanction” confirms that tournament directors may use alternative rules as long as they don’t affect safety. As none of the recent IJF rule changes affects safety, rescinding them carries no increase in liability.

We’ve all complained about the IJF rules for good reason. Do yourself a favor and check out Neil Adams’s video explaining the 2014 changes. You should be disgusted by what the IJF is doing to our Judo.

If you’re a complainer, but continue to think that IJF rules define Judo, here are some things to think about. All those good Judo throws that were once valid but are now banned by the IJF are still valid in FSJ. If you’re tired of the shido culture, you’ll be pleased by what FSJ has done. FSJ referees are proactive, so they’ll be giving your players verbal warnings before a penalty score is given. Numerical scores (1 for koka, 2 for yuko, 4 for waza ari) are cumulative, and help mitigate the impact of borderline referee calls. Tired of the 5-10 seconds for ne waza? Well, FSJ recognizes the importance of ne waza in today’s Judo by allowing more time on the ground, and giving scores for ne waza actions the IJF doesn’t recognize. You’ll have to read the rules to see what ne waza actions score. Go to http://www.freestylejudo.org

James Wall will be hosting the next Freestyle Judo Nationals on April 5, 2014 in Denham Springs, Louisiana. I’ll be there with my team. I’d like you to support this event. If you’re concerned about the direction the IJF is taking the sport, you should be in Denham Springs. If you’re concerned that an IJF-emasculated Judo can no longer compete with other grappling sports in the U.S., you should join us in Denham Springs. If you think that more Judo can be done in BJJ or submission grappling tournaments than can be done in IJF rules Judo tournaments, it should be a no-brainer: come to Denham Springs and help us grow Freestyle Judo for the sake of Judo’s survival.